or the placing of a member in such a position that it is doubtful which of several possible constructions is intended. 1. The following is an example of dislocation:— "This summer, the ban of the Empire was published, and the execution of it given to the Duke of Bavaria, against the Elector Palatine." Here the phrase "against the Elector Palatine," is separated by a whole clause from the verb "published," on which it immediately depends. The effect of such a suspension of the current of the sense is to oppress and confuse the mind. The sentence should be: "This summer, the ban of the Empire was published against the Elector Palatine, and the execution of it was given to the Duke of Bavaria." 2. The following is an example of ambiguity: "Rome once more ruled over the prostrate nations by the power of superstition." This may mean, (1) that Rome had at a former time ruled over the nations "by the power of superstition," and now ruled over them a second time by the same power; (2) that she had formerly ruled over them by some other power, that of conquest or of imperial influence, and now did so "by the power of superstition." As the sentence stands, it most naturally bears the former construction. To convey the latter meaning, it should be arranged thus:"Rome, by the power of superstition, once more ruled over the prostrate nations." 45. The careless and excessive use of the relative and demon strative pronouns is a frequent source of ambiguity. A pronoun should stand as near as possible to its correlative; and when there is danger of misconception, the correlative should be repeated. In the following sentence the relative is ambiguous : "A verdict, however, was obtained against him (Wilkes), for No. 45 (of The North Briton), as well as for a piece called An Essay on Woman, an obscene and scurrilous libel in parody of Pope's Essay on Man, in which Lord Sandwich and Bishop Warburton had been reflected on and ridiculed." A reader unacquainted with Pope's works would naturally suppose from this statement that it was Pope who had ridiculed Sandwich and Warburton; and the ambiguity is favoured by the use of the past-perfect, "had been." To prevent this misconception, the latter part of the sentence should run thus:-"As well as for an obscene and scurrilous libel in parody of Pope's Essay on Man, entitled An Essay on Woman, in which Lord Sandwich and Bishop Warburton had been (or were) reflected on and ridiculed." The following illustrates ambiguity in the use of the demonstrative (or 3d personal) pronouns :— "He (Wellington) thus succeeded in at last combating the revolution with its own weapons, and at the same time detaching from them the moral weakness under which it laboured. He met it with its own forces; but he rested their efforts on a nobler principle." See also The Progressive English Grammar, § 248. 46. In expressing a complex idea, the modifications and qualifications should precede the substantive notion, in order to make it clear at the first reading that the latter is not stated absolutely. This arrangement conduces to energy and grace, as well as to clearness. On this principle, 1st, Clauses of condition and concession logically precede their principal clauses; e.g.,— "If the Secretary really wrote the letter in question, he is a traitor." This is a clear and logical statement, inasmuch as it mentions the ground of the conclusion before the conclusion itself, and it gives the Secretary the full benefit of the doubt which the hypothesis implies. If, on the other hand, the sentence were arranged in the grammatical order,-"The Secretary is a traitor, if he really wrote the letter in question,"-the mind would at once seize on the charge of treachery as an absolute charge, and be less influenced by the secondary condition on which it rests. In like manner the sentence "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him," presents a view of faith at once clearer and more forcible than if the grammatical arrangement were adopted. 2d, An Absolute Phrase should stand at the beginning of the sentence; e.g., "The King being dead, a dispute arose as to the succession." This also is the logical arrangement. The cause precedes the consequence, and the mind at once grasps the whole situation of affairs more clearly than if the order were inverted. 47. The necessity of making the modification precede the main statement is more apparent when the former is negative, or in any degree contradictory of the latter. Thus we say, "I have never been in Vienna." "In my dreams, I have often ascended Mont Blanc." The cases in which this order is inverted, for the sake of antithesis, or of exciting surprise, will be referred to under the head of Strength. 3. STRENGTH. 48. It is desirable that, without sacrificing clearness, the members of a sentence should be so disposed as to convey the most forcible and vivid impression. This is what is meant by Strength, as opposed to weakness or looseness of arrangement. The first principle of energy is that the most important words should occupy the most prominent places. These are the beginning and the end of the sentence. The principal subject naturally occupies the former, the principal predicate, with its essential modifications, the latter; and the other members should be ranged between these two extremes. A sentence arranged on this plan, so that the sense is suspended until the close, is called a Period. If, on the other hand, the principal predicate is followed by explanatory clauses, the sentence is said to be Loose. 49. A sentence may, however, be energetic, without assuming the proportions or the measured roll of a period. In sentences, whether periodic or loose, this quality of style may be obtained by the following means :— 1st, By Inversion,-by placing an element in a position which does not naturally belong to it; e.g., "Narrow is the way that leadeth unto life." "Silver and gold have I none." C 2d, By Interrogation,-by throwing the proposition into the form of a question, leaving the reader to supply the answer, in which the real statement is conveyed; e.g., "Who can paint like Nature?" "Who does not hope to live long?" These are forcible statements. The direct assertions, "No one can paint like Nature," "Every one hopes to live long," would be weak and ineffective in comparison. It will be observed from these examples that a negative question implies an affirmative statement, and vice versa. Analogous to this Figure of construction, as it may be called, is the next mode of obtaining energy: 3d, By Exclamation; e.g., "How oblique and faintly looks the sun on yonder climates -far removed from him!" "What a piece of work is man!" The force of both these figures lies in their indefiniteness. When the statement of a specific degree or quality might fail by inadequacy, it is better vaguely to suggest it as something very great. A graduated series of Exclamations, rising in intensity as they proceed, form the figure called Climax, of which the following is a well-known example: "What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! In form and moving, how express and admirable! in action, how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god!" If, on the other hand, the latter member of a sentence suddenly fall in dignity or importance, the figure is called Anti-climax; e. g., "Next comes the great Dalhoussey, god of war, 4th, By Antithesis,-by arranging the terms of antithetical clauses so as to give prominence to the contrasted ideas. A contrast is often implied in the sense, without being formally expressed; e.g., — "Charles deliberated long, and determined with coolness; but, having once fixed his plan, he adhered to it with inflexible obstinacy." But in connexion with construction we have to deal only with the formal or balanced antithesis, in which specific terms in two clauses are sharply contrasted with one another. The usual arrangement is the direct one, in which the contrasted words occupy a corresponding place in the two clauses; e.g.,— "SPEECH is silvern, but SILENCE is golden." "To be CARNALLY minded is death; but to be SPIRITUALLY minded is life and peace." Sometimes, however, the order of the terms in the second clause is the reverse of that in the first; e.g., "EVIL pursueth sinners; but to the righteous GOOD shall be repaid." "He TWICE forsook his party; his principles Never." 5th, By Ellipsis,―The last example shows how the effect of antithesis may be heightened by this means. Prominence is given to the contrasted words by avoiding the repetition of those that are alike; e.g.,— "Homer was the greater genius; Virgil, the better artist: 50. It is also a rule of strength, that a sentence should not close with an insignificant word. (1.) This rule is most frequently and most seriously violated by separating the preposition from the word it governs, and placing it at the end of the sentence; e.g.,— |